26.11.17

The two moves that will keep you fit for life

How can you tell if you’re due a long and happy
life? Advanced science? Cryogenics? Dr Michael Joyner, a physician and
researcher with non-profit health organization the Mayo Clinic, may have
the answer.
“Study after study is showing that simple tests of physical
performance are highly predictive of future mortality,” Joyner wrote for
Outside Magazine. In other words, deceptively simple fitness trials
will both show your limitations and boost your longevity.
Joyner’s top moves to improve your fitness and extend your lifespan
boost explosive power, cardiovascular health, endurance and strength.
You’re not going to like these: weighted skipping and burpees.

Why these two?

Skipping alone is more effective than a jog when it comes to torching
fat. The University of Jena, Germany, found that skipping requires 24%
more power than running at the same speed. In short, you're burning more
calories. Now add additional weight to that rope, requiring a higher
power output, and you’re torching calories while building arm muscle at
the same time. It’s almost like those gyroscopic powerballs that were in
vogue a few years ago.
Burpees are a rightly feared total-body exercise that builds
explosive power in our lower-body and works the heart. Whether you’re
doing burpees with a press-up so that your chest touches the floor or
not, it’s still an excruciatingly difficult exercise.
“On hard days, I’ll sometimes alternate between a minute of burpees
and using a weighted jump rope,” says Joyner. Both exercises serve a
double purpose, increasing your cardiovascular fitness while building
both upper-body and lower-body power, making them fantastic for a
deceptively simple all-purpose workout.